16 Years of Alcohol (2003)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Richard Jobson

Writer:

Richard Jobson (written by)

Release Date:

30 July 2004 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Skinhead | Scene During End Credits | Pub | Dancing | Interracial Kiss

Awards:

4 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Kevin McKidd	...	Frankie
Laura Fraser	...	Helen
Susan Lynch	...	Mary
Jim Carter	...	Dirctor
Ewen Bremner	...	Jake
Elaine C. Smith	...	AA meeting woman
Kate Robbins	...	Fighting couple woman
Marcia Rose	...	Female Actor
Lewis Macleod	...	Frankie's Father
Lisa May Cooper	...	Frankie's Mother
Gerald Lepkowski	...	Male actor
Iain De Caestecker	...	Frankie as a boy
Stuart Sinclair Blyth	...	Miller
Russell Anderson	...	Kill
Michael Moreland	...	Budgie

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language, some violent content and sexual material.

Runtime:

Switzerland:102 min | USA:102 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R16 | UK:18 | USA:R | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Company:

Tartan Works Ltd.

Movie Connections:

References Enter the Dragon (1973)

Soundtrack:

Fields of Athenry

Arguably, a bit better than Hallmark

Films about alcohol are usually depressing. They rob all the enthusiasm for life one might have in just a few hours and leave you staring into the void at the end, wondering what the point was. It's difficult to catalog them in any way, because a good "alcoholics movie" is one which swiftly flows along certain psychological retinues and steadily builds up to a mammoth of self deprivation.

However, this isn't truly a film about alcohol. It's more a film about getting a life (yes, Trainspotting), portrayed in a less imaginative way. It all gravitates around love and the end is helplessly tragic, but "Sixteen Years of Alcohol" isn't that bad. Some sweet imagery and photography might make it worth your time. Also, the story resides within the soul of everyone who suffers due to lack of purpose, not only those subdued to the magic liquor. It's a borderline movie: you may very well dislike it, because the storyline is crap. Like all those films which fit into this part of the movie-specter, "Sixteen..." has good and bad parts. Just to name one, I want to recall the "Clockwork Orange" scenes, which are a homage-like rip-off, that barely prove a point. Moreover, those scenes feel terribly frustrating.

All in all, it's not too bad and it could hardly have been better. No one need to watch it, but everyone is invited. Check out the party. 6/10